Department for International Development

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

lord judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what inter-governmental deliberations are currently taking place regarding the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

lord bates: International deliberations on the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Yemen are being led by the UN. The UK welcomes the recent appointments of Martin Griffiths as the new UN Special Envoy to Yemen and Lise Grande as the new UN Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator for Yemen. The UK will continue to support their efforts to work with all parties to bring about peace and end the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.The UK is also playing a leading role in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict. As the pen-holder on Yemen at the UN Security Council the UK proposed and coordinated a UN Security Council Presidential Statement adopted on 15 March, which called on all parties to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, facilitate humanitarian access, and emphasised the need for an inclusive political solution. The UK will continue to press for a political solution to the conflict in the next Quad meeting between the UK, US, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The UK is also taking a leading role in the Yemen Donor Coordination Group.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the evidence of extreme humanitarian distress requiring immediate relief on a large scale in Yemen; and what action they are taking to save lives and to relieve human suffering in that country.

lord bates: The UK remains deeply concerned by the humanitarian crisis in Yemen - the largest in the world. Over 22 million people - 75% of the population - are in need of humanitarian assistance. The UN estimates that 17.8 million people in Yemen do not have reliable access to food and 8.4 million people face extreme food shortages.On 3 April, the UK announced £170 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen for the financial year 2018/2019. This will meet immediate food needs for 2.5 million Yemenis, and adds to over £400 million in bilateral support since 2015.

Department for Transport

Monarch Airlines: Insolvency

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in negotiations to secure contributions to the cost of repatriating stranded passengers of Monarch airlines from related parties of the airline, including Greybull Capital.

baroness sugg: We are focused on making sure that there is clear burden sharing of the repatriation operation, and are seeking to recover costs of the operation from several third parties. This process is ongoing and a final position on cost recoveries is unlikely to be known until the completion of the administration, which may take several months. We will in due course be able to report back with more detail.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Rented Housing: Older People

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of housing for older peoplein the private rented, social and council housing sectors.

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) housing associations, (2) private rented sector bodies, and (3) local authorities, about the availability of suitable housing for older people.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: In our Housing White Paper, the Government set out proposals to do more to provide the homes we need for all in our society, including older people. We are strengthening the National Planning Policy Framework, so that local planning authorities are expected to have clear policies for addressing the housing needs of older people. Planning authorities should also include a plan policy setting out their approach to promoting Build to Rent. We will be publishing further guidance on housing for older people this summer. We have also been clear that housing will form a part of our considerations as we set out proposals in our forthcoming Green Paper to reform care and support for older people which will be published in summer 2018.Since 2012, this Government has supported growth of the Build to Rent sector with a Build to Rent Fund (£630m) and debt guarantees to increase delivery. Over 20,000 homes have been completed since 2012 and a further 97,000 are in the pipeline (British Property Federation, Quarter 1, 2018). We would also note that greater institutional investment in the Private Rented Sector will improve standards, give tenants greater security and increase choice for all tenants.Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that their provision of social housing meets local need, including for older people. This Government is providing a stable investment environment for councils to support the delivery of new homes, by allowing local authorities to increase rents by up to CPI +1% for 5 years from 2020. This will give councils the security and certainty they need to plan investment, and provide greater confidence about their future rental income to underpin their future house building plans. Furthermore, we will raise the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap by a total of up to £1 billion in areas of high affordability pressure, for local authorities who are ready to start building new homes. Local authorities will be able to bid for increases in their caps between 2019-20 and 2021/22.In addition, since 2011, we have delivered almost 30,000 supported housing units for disabled, vulnerable and older people. At Autumn Statement 2015, we announced £400 million for new specialist affordable homes for vulnerable, older or disabled people.

Internal Drainage Boards: Taxation

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Internal Drainage Board Levies setting new funding baselines as part of the Local Authority Fair Funding Review.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: We are continuing to make good progress with our fair funding review of relative needs and resources, in close collaboration with the Local Government Association. Our recent consultation was an important opportunity for local authorities to tell us about factors which drive expenditure and I know Internal Drainage Board Levies were raised by some. We received over 300 responses to the consultation and these will be carefully considered in the coming weeks. We are considering factors which affect council tax income as part of our assessment of the relative resources available to authorities to fund local services, including Internal Drainage Board Levies, and we will consult on this area in due course.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

lord tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 11 April (HL6665), whether the commitment to provide lifetime tenancies in social housing extends to holders of tenancies in Grenfell Tower who had sublet their property and so were not resident at the time of the fire.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea committed that all households who were living in Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk as their main home immediately before the fire will be offered a lifetime tenancy in social housing, and the Council has made clear this includes:Council introductory or secure tenants;Resident leaseholders;Subtenants or lodgers of the above; andTenants of non-resident leaseholders.The Government continues to support the Council to deliver this commitment.

Ministry of Defence

Nuclear Weapons

baroness miller of chilthorne domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the promotion of measures such as (1) the no first use policy, (2) de-alerting, and (3) communication protocols, to support efforts to downgrade the threat of accidental nuclear weapon use.

earl howe: The United Kingdom's nuclear weapons policy is set out in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, and is kept under regular review.

Syria: Military Intervention

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total cost of the recent air strikes carried out by the RAF in response to the chemical attack on Douma.

earl howe: The costs of operational flying sorties are calculated on a net additional cost basis, i.e. they are based on those costs, over and above existing funding, that the Department would not have incurred but for the activity. As the aircraft involved were already deployed on operations, additional operating costs are not expected from the activity. No net additional costs for the weapons consumed will materialise unless the Department assesses that additional weapons must be procured to meet current planning assumptions.

Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions

baroness eaton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much higher the basic state pension is in 2018–19 than it was in 2010–11, following the increase announced in April by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

baroness buscombe: In 2010-11 the basic State Pension was £97.65 per week. In 2018-19 it is £125.95 per week, an increase since 2010-11 of £28.30 per week or over £1450 per annum. Legislation for the basic and new State Pensions allows for annual increases at least in line with average earnings growth. This ensures that people above State Pension age receive increases in their basic State Pension income that are in line with earnings growth in the population as a whole. In addition, this Government has committed to increases in line with the Triple Lock for the duration of this Parliament, ensuring that increases will be the highest of the growth in prices, earnings or 2.5%. For 2018/19 these pensions increased by 3% (the rate of prices growth under the Consumer Price Index). The full rate of basic State Pension is now £660 more than if it had been uprated by earnings over this period.